Back-To-Back Over GVSU! The Ferris State Victory By The Numbers

Oct 14, 2013

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University football team reached several impressive milestones and posted some big numbers in beating archrival Grand Valley State for the second consecutive season to claim the Anchor-Bone Trophy on Saturday (Oct. 12) night at FSU's Top Taggart Field.

The Bulldogs' 54-44 Anchor-Bone Classic home win over the Lakers, which was played under rainy conditions before a crowd of nearly 5,000 fans, came on the heels of last season's 40-24 triumph over GVSU at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale. The victory last year snapped an 11-game series' slide for FSU and was the Bulldogs' first victory over Grand Valley State
since 1999.

Here are some key notes from Saturday night's victory:

* Ferris State established a new school single-game rushing record with 465 yards on the ground against the Lakers. FSU piled up nearly 300 yards rushing in the second half alone on its way to 583 yards of total offense.

* The Bulldogs recorded their first back-to-back wins over GVSU since the 1994-95 seasons.

* Head Coach Tony Annese became the first Bulldog head coach to beat the Lakers in back-to-back years since Nick Coso did so back in 1976 and 1977. No other Ferris State coach besides Coso and Annese have defeated Grand Valley State in consecutive seasons.

* The victory was the Bulldogs' sixth all-time series' triumph over the Lakers in Big Rapids and the first at Top Taggart Field since 1995.

* Ferris State's 54-point output was its second-highest total ever against the Lakers and was only three shy of the 57-0 triumph the Bulldogs recorded in the first-ever series meeting back in 1971 in Big Rapids.

* The back-to-back wins in the rivalry represent only the fourth time in school history in which FSU has beat GVSU in consecutive seasons.

* The Bulldogs have dominated the Lakers on the ground each of the last two years as Ferris State's 465 yards rushing on Saturday night topped the previous record FSU set at GVSU a year ago with 457 yards on the ground.

* Ferris State vaulted up 11 spots to 15th nationally in the CompughterRatings.com national poll with the victory.

* Sophomore quarterback Jason Vander Laan has now ran for 185 plus yards each of the last two seasons against the Lakers after posting 210 yards on the ground on Saturday night.

* The Bulldogs' 54 total points marked the third time this year in which FSU has totaled 45 points or more in a contest and the fifth time in less than two years under head coach Tony Annese. Prior to his arrival, the Bulldogs had done so only three times in the previous seven years.

* FSU's 583 yards of total offense represented the eighth time in the Tony Annese era in which the Bulldogs have totaled 500 yards or more offensively in a contest.

* The Bulldogs made a clean sweep of the GLIAC Offensive & Defensive Player of the Week awards following the win as Jason Vander Laan earned the league's weekly offensive distinction this week and senior cornerback James Stewart claimed the defensive nod after a memorable 62-yard interception return for a score.

* Jason Vander Laan topped the 2,000 career yards rushing mark in the GVSU game and is now eighth all-time on the Bulldogs' career rushing list with 2,188 total yards.

* Vander Laan also moved into fifth place in the country in rushing touchdowns this year with two scores against the Lakers. He now has 12 TD's on the ground this campaign.

In fitting fashion, Saturday night's Bulldog victory came on the same night in which FSU celebrated "The Streak", which was the program's memorable 42-game regular season unbeaten streak from 1992-95. Former alumni from the impressive run were on hand as FSU won the Anchor-Bone Classic and beat the Lakers in back-to-back seasons for the first time since that memorable era.

The end result of all the numbers:The Anchor-Bone Trophy stays in Big Rapids for another year!